Will Summer Releases Get Blocked By ‘The Lego Movie’?

Studios releasing their movies this summer have another film to compete with for attention as they try to lure younger moviegoers into the multiplex: “The Lego Movie.”

Warner Bros. will release the animated hit on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital HD in the heat of the summer on June 17.

The studio’s homevideo division also plans to release a special “Everything Is Awesome Edition” (named after the movie’s catchy tune), which will offer a Vitruvius minifigure and collectible 3Dphoto of Emmet, along with commentary tracks; an “Everything Is Awesome” sing-along; deleted scenes; outtakes; making-of featurettes; fan-made Lego movies; and the short films “Batman: A True Artist” and “Michelangelo and Lincoln: History Cops.”

What’s interesting about the release date is that Hollywood doesn’t have a new family release debuting that weekend, giving “Lego Movie” most of the attention.

The only film going after the same audience will be DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” which 20th Century Fox will release June 13. Paramount has “Transformers: Age of Extinction” out June 27.

Disney already has released “Frozen” on homevideo — it’s performed strongly since hitting retailers on all formats in March. In fact, the Oscar-winning toon sold 3.2 million Blu-ray and DVD discs in its first day of release, making “Frozen” one of the biggest sellers on homevideo in a decade. At the same time, the film was the fastest-selling release of all time when it hit digital formats in late February.

The strong and, according to some studios, growing appetite for family fare on homevideo platforms is the reason theater owners should keep “The Lego Movie” in mind come June. As an increasing number of younger ticket buyers opt to stay at home, and as divisions like Warner Home Video work overtime to eventize homevid releases of films like “The Lego Movie,” theaters will need to further incentivize their core customers to make the trip to the megaplex.